Brooks, Shelton
(1886–1975)> COMPOSER
Shelton Brooks Composer Amesburg, Ontario Canada, May 4, 1886; Los Angeles, California, September 6, 1975. He grew up in Detroit and started out as a pianist playing ragtime . He then created a comic vaudeville act by doing an imitation of Bert Williams . When Williams saw Brooks’s performance, he said, “If I’m as funny as he is, I got nothin’ to worry about.” There is a story about Brooks walking around for days with a tune in his head, but unable to find the proper lyrics to fit it. One…